New and upcoming musicals in Melbourne

Gather your broomsticks and click your heels together three times because one of the most successful musicals in the world is to crash land in Melbourne with the sheer force of a house falling on a woman wearing a pointy hat. 

The 20th anniversary of Wicked will be celebrated with an exclusive season at Melbourne's Regent Theatre in March 2024. This is a revival of the John Frost production, which opened in Melbourne in 2008 and went on to tour nationally and internationally.

A prequel to The Wizard of Oz, set long before Dorothy dropped in, Wicked remains one of the most successful and popular musicals in the world. It won over 100 major awards, including the Grammy Award, the Olivier Award, six Helpmann Awards, three Tony Awards and six Drama Desk Awards. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. 

Wicked will be defying gravity at Melbourne's Regent Theatre from March 2024. Sign up to the waitlist here to be the first in line to buy tickets for the season when tickets go on pre-sale from October 16. Tickets for the general public are on sale from October 20. 

Love the ol'razzle dazzle? Check out what other new and upcoming musicals are coming to Melbourne. 

Music theatre fans, hold onto your hats. A new production of a beloved classic is coming our way and it's bringing a revered star soprano, who originated one of the most famous musical roles of all time, to Melbourne. 

Sunset Boulevard will shine with the glitz of old Hollywood in a brand new lavish production on the Princess Theatre stage for a strictly limited season in May 2024, starring the one-and-only Sarah Brightman.

If her name is familiar, it's because she was the original Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera on both the West End and Broadway. The international superstar has since gained global acclaim as a beloved soprano and recording artist, and is now returning to the stage to play her first role in a musical in more than three decades – right here in Melbourne. 

The British songstress will play the lead role of Norma Desmond, a character made famous by Glenn Close, in the Tony award-winning musical. Based on the 1950s film noir by Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard features music by prolific composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (known for a vast array of treasured musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Evita and more) and a book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton.

The original 1994 Broadway production won six Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Book, and had the highest ever ticket pre-sales in Broadway history at the time. The new Australian production will be the first time the musical has graced our shores in almost 20 years, where it played to sold out theatres. 

Sunset Boulevard follows the journey of forgotten silent movie star Norma Desmond, whose Hollywood career takes a turn for the worst with the advent of "talkies" movies. It regales her story of faded glory and unfufilled ambition, and how a chance encounter with struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis and their subsequent passionate but volatile relationship leads to an unforseen and tragic ending. 

Presented by GWB Entertainment and Opera Australia, the upcoming production will see the classic musical refreshed with new staging, directed by Paul Warwick Griffin, featuring extravagant sets and costumes to evoke the glamorous Golden Age of Hollywood. Audiences will be treated to the hits from the score like ‘With One Look’, ‘The Perfect Year’, and the anthemic ‘As If We Never Said Goodbye’. This production is undoubtedly set to be the unmissable theatrical event of the year. 

Sunset Boulevard will open at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne for a strictly limited season in May 2024. Pre-sale tickets will be available on October 10, with general public tickets on sale on October 13. The production will also play at the Sydney Opera House in August 2024. Find out more and sign up for the ticket waitlist here. 

Love a night at the theatre? Here are the best musicals on this month. 

It’s a tale as old as time, but the Australian premiere of Disney Theatrical’s Broadway blockbuster Beauty and the Beast is getting a modern makeover ahead of its run at Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre in June 2024. The production has also been announced a season at Brisbane's Lyric Theatre.

The enchanting tale – which Time Out Sydney crowned five stars – will be brought to life in a reimagined production from the producers of The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Aladdin and Frozen. Audiences can expect to be bedazzled by the cutting-edge technology, costumes and Broadway-style dance numbers paired with live orchestral scores by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. 

Based on the 1991 animated Disney film, the classic romance story of Belle and her Beast will feature a stellar all-Australian cast including Brisbane's Shubshri Kandiah as Belle, Brendan Xavier as Beast and Melbourne's Rohan Browne in the role of Lumiere. Brisbane's Jackson Head will step into the role of Gaston, Cogsworth will be played by Melbourne's Gareth Jacobs and Gold Coast's Jayde Westaby will play Mrs Potts. For the full cast and creative team, visit the website here.

Beauty and the Beast will be staged at Her Majesty's Theatre in June 2024. You can sign up before November 10 to have priority access to tickets, with pre-sales beginning on November 13. Learn more about the waitlist and sign up on the website here.

Love the ol'razzle dazzle? Check out the best theatre and musicals in Melbourne this month.